St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-08-13

Certain it is, moreover. that the evil
dence taken to-day pointed more
strongly to the probabilities that
TRAIN WRECKERS
were at the bottom of the horror than to
the original idea that the bridge over the
culvert had been set Oh fire by the burn
ing grass beneath. In the preliminary
testimony this morning the fact was de-
yeloped that in order to insure the
safety of the train, which was the
heaviest that had ever gone over the
road orders had been issued to the fore
men of the various sections to make a
careful examination of the track and
culverts on Wednesday afternoon. That
portion of the road on which the accl-
dent occurred was in charge of Timothy
Coughlin, and what he told the jury
was brief and to the point. He had
gone over the road and examined the
culvert of death within half dozen
hours of midnight on Wednesday. He
found it in good condition. There were
no signs of fire. In fact there was moth
ing to burn. The fields all around had
been recently moved and no longer
than week ago all the grass around
the culvert had been burnt right into
the soil on purpose to
INSURE THE Salty
VI lllc IlllDeIS anu Ilic lIdch WHICH
rested on them. ROadmaSter Ennis,
who went over the treStle on hand-car
later in the evening, swOre that it was
sound and strong. Then William Hell
lam, a well-tO-dO farmer living in the
neighb0rhOod, was called to the stand
and told a story that created sensa-
ton. He said that while standing on
the platform at ChatsWorth waiting
with his son for the iil-fated train, he
repeatedly saw a peculiar light upon the
track about in the neighborhOOd OF
where the train went down. AT first he
thought it was fire, but from its diSap-
pearance and temperance at intervals
during period of three hours, he came
to the conclusion that somebody was
swinging big lantern or that
locomotive was moving to
and fro. This was kept up
until a little while before the hour the
train was due at Chatsworth and seemed
to him SO remarkable that he called the
attention of several people around him
to the fact. Hellam's statement was
corroborated by his son, who with his
father got on board the train and barely
escaped with their lives, and by Julius
kOpeke, d farmer living within a quar-
ter of mile of the track, and who saw
what seemed to be
A SMALL FIRE
near the culvert shortly before mid
night. Testimony pointing in the same
direction was given by several other
witnesses before the inquiry adjourned.
Those who hold the theory of train
wrecking believe that there was
an organized gang of thieves
on board the train, and
that the bridge was destroyed by Goa
federateS as the result of well laid
plot. In support of this theory
numerous stories of the dead and in
jured are being passed from mouth to
mouth, but the mouths of the dead are
closed and the injured who are cited
cannot be found either here or at Piper
City. Developments in this connection,
however, are promised before the end
of the present investigation, and it
would not be surprising if the jury, in
its verdict, would fix the responsibility
for the disaster upon some person or
persons unknown, and leave the rail
road company or the county free to use
their own discretion in following up the
matter 10 an end.
1t was nearly II o'clock tonight when
the cOrOner'S jury at ChatSwOrth adj
journed until tomorrow morning. j.
q. Brown and Thomas J. Brown, bank
erS of ChatSworth, cOrrObOrated the teS-
tlmOny of previous witnesses regarding
THE PECULIAR LIGHT
seen near the bridge shortly before the
accident. Tobinski and KObaske, two
section hands, swore that they burned
the grass near the bridge Friday of last
week; that on the afternoon of the ac-
cident they were doing the same work
forty rods from the bridge; that they
passed over the cnlvert, and that there
was nothing burning, or anything there
to burn. Michael kobaSke, another
section hand, was next called. Just as he
was about to be sworn the other 10
baSke whispered into his ear several
words in Polish. The result was that
the witness showed
REMARKABLE FACILITY
for teStifying to the same story as told
by his namesake, while his memory
showed considerable weakness when
questioned as to the possibility of there
having been any fire at the bridge with
out his seeing it. On crOsS-eXamination
he admitted that all three were in car
near the bridge on the fatal night. 1t
was evident from the demeanOr of the
jurymen that the testimony of the three
Polanders was anything but satisfac-
tory. The inquiry will be resumed at
o'clock tomorrow morning.